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An incredibly wild final two minutes during regulation of Sunday's annual trip to Soldier Field did not match the way the Vikings would have drawn things up — and nearly upended an otherwise solid day — but Minnesota persevered for a 30-27 victory over Chicago.

The Vikings improved to 9-2 on the season by stepping through the following series of missteps that allowed the Bears to devour an 11-point Vikings lead in the final 1:56 of the fourth quarter:

DeAndre Carter returned a kickoff 60 yards to the Minnesota 40, covering substantial ground in just 11 seconds. Credit rookie Dallas Turner for having the speed and hustle to chase down Carter from behind and prevent the touchdown.

The Vikings allowed Caleb Williams to convert a fourth-and-3 with a 14-yard pass to Rome Odunze and a third-and-2 with a 10-yard pass to Roschon Johnson before Williams found Keenan Allen on a 1-yard touchdown pass and followed with a 2-point pass to DJ Moore with 22 seconds remaining.

Chicago also became the first team to recover an onside kick this season.

The Bears followed with a 27-yard pass from Williams to Moore on a dagger route to get into field goal range in one play and spike the ball to stop the clock.

Momentum had fled the Minnesota sideline like Jake and Elwood Blues at this point, but the Vikings showed their resolve in overtime.

Jonathan Greenard, who had been double teamed for much of the second half after recording three tackles for loss in the first, kept fighting through a combo block by Cole Kmet and D'Andre Swift. The Vikings managed to keep Williams in the pocket on the play, allowing Greenard the opportunity to break through and swarm the rookie for a loss of 12 on a second-and-9, leading to a quick punt.

Minnesota played quality football on its final possession of the game. Sam Darnold helped the team overcome setbacks and aced overtime by completing all six passes he attempted and totaling 90 yards on the drive to finish with 330 on the day.

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell doled out game balls to Greenard, Jerry Tillery (how about that FG block?), Jordan Addison (career-long reception and career-high yards in a game), T.J. Hockenson (114 yards on seven catches), Brian O'Neill (his 100^th NFL game and in recognition for the o-line) and Darnold. He began the sequence, though, with C.J. Ham, whose grandfather in Chicagoland had passed away before the game.

The timing of Minnesota's trip enabled Ham to spend several hours with his grandfather on Saturday. I'm sure that didn't make Sunday any easier, but it's so good that Ham got to have that time. Thoughts are with his family.

Lastly before we get to questions, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

I went to Nashville last week to see the game and was so impressed with Darnold's grit, and this week's game against the Bears outdid that performance against the Titans. Sam was spot-on all day. The receivers dropped some balls, but it did not even slow him down.

I know the team has big plans for J.J. McCarthy, but it is apparent that we do not want to play against Darnold on a good team. He is a tough, athletic, talented pain in the neck for whomever he plays against. Hope we don't get too cute and let this guy fall into some other team's lap and pay for it for the next decade.

The Bears game was closer than it should have been, but that was not his fault. Caleb Williams played the best game of his career, and they still couldn't beat the Vikings. Speaks volumes about this team that even though they ran into a buzzsaw, they still found a way to win.

Six very difficult games left.

Skol!

— Gary from Florida

I mentioned how great Darnold was in overtime. For a while, I thought I'd be leading the game observations with the FG drive he led in the fourth quarter to put the game away by creating an 11-point lead.

Analytics site PFF combined his showing in the fourth quarter and overtime.

That is some high-level QB play.

I understand why everyone is excited about McCarthy's long-term future, but I also think more people are beginning to really see all that Darnold is offering to this team at the position. Sunday was his ninth game of 2024 with a passer rating above 100. Daunte Culpepper (10 in 2000) and Brett Favre (10 in 2009) are the only Vikings to have more such games in one season.

Darnold left briefly after his foot got landed on by big defensive lineman Gervon Dexter, Sr., at the end of a pass play, but he quickly returned to resume a drive that Nick Mullens helped extend with a 14-yard pass to Aaron Jones, Sr., on third-and-13.

Darnold said he hated having to come out and put Mullens in that situation. O'Connell relayed an interaction that speaks to his toughness. The coach didn't speak to Darnold while he was getting evaluated but did so through the sideline communications device once he returned to action.

"My favorite kind of dialogue when he can't return any communication besides a head not or a thumbs up," O'Connell said. "I just asked him, on a scale of 1 to 10, are you above a 6 right now? He gave me a thumbs up. I said an 8? He gave me a thumbs up, and I think he said, 'Stop asking.' "

There will be plenty of time to figure out things after the season, but for now, I'd suggest savoring the remaining journey of this season.

Well, Sam Darnold played a pretty good game. Sometimes I don't know if they trust him completely. Aaron Jones has got to work on ballhandling a little better: two fumbles at the goal line this year — not good. Our defense needs to stop giving up big plays. They're hurting us quite a bit, and I really don't understand on that onside kick why that guy would even try to hit somebody if the ball has to go 10 yards before anybody can touch it? All in all, sometimes they're ugly wins, but I'll take them.

Skol,

— Toby S. in Alaska

There were so many great parts of the run game on Sunday, but the turnover so close to the goal line was a big disappointment.

As for the onside kick, the Vikings planned to have Johnny Mundt block to clear the way for someone else to field the kick as it reaches 10 yards. The problem was Mundt has to commit to blocking before being able to process if the kick is going to go 10 yards. The ball bounced off him — a footnote if you will to the weird happenings over the years between the Vikings and Bears on the west side of Lake Michigan — and was able to be recovered by the Bears.

"My view was probably too good. I'm going to see that for many, many sleepless nights here going forward. It was right in front of me," O'Connell said. "It was a really good kick, and our guys are expecting on that roller play to kind of have that front line and see if they can go up and make contact and allow the guys to get the ball, but we're going to have to take a look at that because it's not a high-percentage play, so when you give one up in a critical moment like that following by a big old dagger hit to get them into field goal range, I've got to do a better job."

Great battle. Absolutely atrocious finish to regulation. It is just horrible we can't finish and we can't perform on either side of the ball to seal a win. It seemed like we worked hard all day long to keep the Bears in the game — with the goal line turnover and the defense giving up big plays to Caleb Williams and D'Andre Swift and Keenan Allen? Offense appeared to be inconsistent overall. The Vikings absolutely cannot put a team away? Beautiful OT scoring drive though — glad we pulled it out. Below are my 3 ups and 3 downs for the game:

UPS:

1. Nice answering drive by the Vikings to tie the game on the first play of the second quarter.

2. Vikings challenge, reversal and blocked FG attempt. Followed by a Vikings TD. Nicely done all around.

3. Nice TD after the muffed punt. Very nice TD run by Jones. Vikings win the third quarter and extend their halftime lead heading into the 4th. That is always good!

DOWNS:

1. Opening drive fumble at the 1. Ruined a great opening drive. Not the start I was hoping for.

2. More weak play, weak play calls, and weak execution on both sides of the ball heading into halftime (again)? Vikings were three-and-out at the 3-minute mark after a Darnold throw away on second-and-6? Then with all three Vikings timeouts available, our defense absolutely cannot get off the field, and they just seem intent on giving the Bears a late second quarter scoring opportunity. And they do. So disappointing.

3. The single worst first-and-goal series performance this season to open the third quarter. First-and-goal becomes a 40-yard FG attempt? How does that even happen to a really good football team?

4. A rarely assessed 4th Downer: Offense, defense, special teams and coaching that allowed the Bears to tie the game late in the late fourth quarter. Sad.

So sad to see the fourth quarter collapse by the stacking of weak plays on both sides of the ball, but we won! Looking forward to the Cards next week.

Respectfully,

— Jeff Ludwig

It was a very timely answer by the Vikings to even the score just 59 seconds after Chicago took a 7-0 lead. Minnesota never trailed after the 14:54 mark of the second quarter but still needed some late heroics.

I can relate to disappointments and added stressors when leads slip away.

That sequence at the end of the first half could have been much better had the offense done more on second-and-6 than having to throw the ball away. Darnold hit Hockenson for 5 on the next snap, but the tight end was unable to break the grip of former Gopher Terell Smith.

I'd have to say watching divisional games is very stressful. Especially when we have the better record and should win. Great team win all around.

Give props to Justin Jefferson. Best decoy in the league. I bet he had double- and triple-coverage all game. Addison fed off that.

But need to clean up our red zone turnovers.

Defense. Frustrating to see our CB get beaten over and over for big plays. With all the sacks Williams had taken all year, I sorta was expecting more. But I was OK with the overall play.

Special teams. Great field goal block. But how do you cause a turnover on a kick that wouldn't have gone 10 yards and would been Vikes ball.

So much potential but so many mistakes. Skol on 9-2.

— Kevin C.

Addison had a monster day that included a 45-yard reception while blanketed by a defender to end the first quarter and a 2-yard touchdown to start the second quarter. Both were impressive throws and catches. He also was able to tightrope the sideline to open the second half with a gain of 69 yards.

So much focus is understandably placed on Jefferson's talents that have broken so many records, but there's probably not enough made for how great a teammate he is.

Darnold really did a good job of processing coverages and finding people with good chances to have successful plays.

Credit the Bears for blocking up the Vikings pretty well. I do somewhat wonder how much Ivan Pace, Jr., might have factored into Minnesota's attack plan had he not suffered a hamstring injury. Pace drew a holding penalty while blitzing on the first snap of the game.

What do you think of recruiting [Ndamukong] Shuh to fill in for the middle of the defensive line. Currently the tackles are not effective during pass plays. Or at least experiment with [Dallas] Turner and others at tackle on some plays. I would probably offer [Aaron] Donald a few million to finish this season as a Viking.

— Rodger in Sacramento, California

And…

Levi Drake Rodriguez is on the 53-man roster because they see something in him and they want to protect him. When will he be active and see playing time? Will it depend on someone being injured?

— Gerald Goblirsch

I'm combining these because they both relate to the interior defensive line.

It seems every year there is a player or two who comes out of retirement to join a team for a playoff run. Suh last played in Super Bowl LVII to conclude the 2022 season. Donald seemed at ease with calling it quits after last season.

We've seen the Vikings move Pat Jones II or Andrew Van Ginkel to the interior. We've also seen them blitz with Pace or Blake Cashman.

Rodriguez has been active for one game so far, playing just four special teams snaps. I'm sure he'll keep working hard — and what he showed in the preseason was great — but he is a seventh-round pick, so some developmental time is in order.

While sacks are one of the most enjoyable stats to attach to a player on the defensive front, Minnesota's group that includes starting linemen Jonathan Bullard, Harrison Phillips and Tillery has been elite against the runs in most games. That's a big part of the team's success, too.

Now that my blood pressure is back to normal, here's my take on the game.

Offensive looked solid except in the red zone — need to do better, be more consistent.

Defensive played well for 58-plus minutes then let the rookie look awesome. We gave up too many third downs. The time of possession was heavily on the Bears side until our last couple drives. Need to get off the field and not let them extend drives.

Special teams came up big except the onside debacle. Really was the difference in the game. Overall, it was a team win. Although I'm still waiting for our best game. Seems elusive, yet I know it's coming. Winning on a day that Justin Jefferson was a successful decoy is a beautiful thing.

And winning three in a row on the road is no easy feat, so hats off to that.

SKOL,

— J.B. Brunet in Texas

The Vikings were able to limit the Bears to 6-for-17 on third downs, but Chicago converted 2-for-3 when going for it on fourth downs.

Going 3-for-7 in the red zone and 3-for-6 in goal-to-go is not a recipe for success on many game days.

The Bears won time of possession handily in the first (10:13 to 4:47) and second (10:16 to 4:44) quarters, but Minnesota reversed that in the third (10:07 to 4:53) and fourth (8:19 to 6:41) and overtime (5:29 to 2:21) periods.

Another game and the same mistakes, same penalties and poor coaching once again! Two plays that stand out are the fourth-and-one for Minnesota where that's either an Aaron Jones run or a quick shot to a slot receiver for 2 yards. Very simple, and Darnold goes back there and thinks about it for a half hour and throws it away.

Then on the defensive side, like usual after the onside kick, they should be bringing at least seven pass rushers. Brings nobody, big completion, go to overtime, and they're lucky to win. I hope they clean house next year!

— Brian Lupacchino in Middletown, Connecticut

I think most with the bird's eye/broadcast view were probably yelling for Darnold to tuck and run on the fourth-down play mentioned by Brian.

This Vikings season was phrased by many external people at the start of the year to be a bit of a rebuild or at least a question mark. Some projected win totals much lower than what Minnesota already has. I'm not quite sure how being 9-2 with a 2-point loss to Detroit and a short-week loss at Los Angeles the following week would lend itself to a demand to "clean house." But I (I'm not the only one) believe there are aspects the Vikings can continue to improve.

Each game there is one or two things that put Vikings fans on the edge of their seats, but I'm impressed by this team's resilience. They've overcome adversity for every game on the road trip for three important wins. Great game by Jordan Addison, who took advantage of all the attention given to Jefferson. Kudos to Jefferson for coming up big when needed. And a big shoutout to Parker Romo, who has been money in the bank on field goals.

— Kevin, reporting from the Southern portion of 'Skol Nation' in Mississippi!

Closing here for this week.

Some could argue that it will benefit Minnesota to have faced some of these adversities, especially on the road.

There's no shortage of tough games ahead, but I wanted to make sure you all saw Romo's post after long snapper Jake McQuaide retrieved the football from Romo's game-winner. Romo (for Will Reichard) and McQuaide (for Andrew DePaola) after joining the team in early November because of injuries suffered against the Colts.

This is a special post…